Setting the standard in call centre recruitment

A two-second slip of concentration can prove expensive. In the case of telephone answering service and outsourced call centre provider GoResponse, it can take 45 minutes to fix the mistake if a telephone operator writes a phone number down wrongly. GoResponse would have to find out who took the call, replay the recording, record the right number and deliver the right number to the client. On top of that, there would be time spent making sure the mistake doesnít happen again and reassuring the client.

ìWe realised that our reputation is based on what our clients receive,î says GoResponse Managing Director Mark Kirby. ìIf the messages we forward are inaccurate or not of a good standard, it reflects on the whole service we provide.î

GoResponse prides itself on the quality and loyalty of its staff and does not employ school leavers or job hoppers. ìWe are constantly recruiting, more because of growth in the business than to replenish existing staff,î says Kirby. ìAt the same time, we do tend to see higher turnover in non-convenient shifts such as evenings and weekends. Itís a lifestyle business, so we would expect a certain amount of turnover. But we must be able to deliver consistent service whether calls come in at nine in the morning, or nine at night.î

When recruiting, GoResponseís challenge was to identify those candidates who could meet the companyís high standards in the call centre. ìIn interviews you can see if someone has the right aptitude and personal skills, but you canít judge their skills in terms of accuracy, spelling and grammar,î says Kirby.

On the recommendation of one of its recruitment agencies, GoResponse introduced Skillsarenaís call centre package for assessing candidates. ìCall centre candidates listen to the voices of people with different accents and requirements and take notes of the call,î says Kirby. ìWe can then see how accurate the details they record are. Itís a good real world test of interpreting information on the telephone and converting it into a written format. Itís as close as possible to the experience they would have in the call centre.î

He adds: ìWhat appealed to us about Skillsarena is that itís web-based. It means we have the opportunity to give candidates the test remotely as well as in-house if necessary. If we insist that one of our agencies puts its candidates through the test, it can be done at the agencyís office using our system. Secondly, we liked the fact that it had modules clearly dedicated to the needs of call centres. The exercises are realistic and do not allow anyone to cheat.î

By introducing the Skillsarena tests, GoResponse has been able to increase the quality of the service it offers its customers. ìWe have decreased the number of customer service issues and maintained our reputation with our clients,î says Kirby. ìWe are definitely hiring more of the right kind of people so weíre incurring less costs associated with addressing problems or replacing operators after theyíve joined us. The extra time we spend running the tests is worth it to ensure we have better-rounded recruits.î

Now GoResponse has recommended Skillsarena to one of the agencies it works with. ìWe try to insist that agencies follow the same recruitment system we use internally so that they put comparative candidates forward,î says Kirby. ìSkillsarena is a responsible investment for them to make so that we can standardise on the information we use when considering recruits.î

Kirbyís advice to other companies thinking of working with Skillsarena? ìIf the quality of the communication that your company provides is important to you, then it is essential to have such a tool that enables you to assess an employeeís communication capabilities as well as their personal capabilities which you can isolate at interview.î
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